Danville Wins To Even Playoff Series, Teheran And Delgado Pitch Well But Lose, And La Stella Stays On A Tear In Thursday's Atlanta Braves Minor League Action

The Danville Braves won their playoff game tonight, evening their 3 game series against the Elizabethton Twins at 1 game apiece. The teams will square off in the decisive game 3 on Friday. Lynchburg lost tonight, putting them 3.5 games behind Wilmington with 4 games left in the season. The Hillcats elimination number is 1, which means if they lose any of their remaining games, or if Wilmington wins any of their remaining 3 games, Wilmington will win the second half division title. Regardless of what happens, Lynchburg won the first half division title and will play in the playoffs starting Wednesday September 5th. Rome lost tonight, but they still have a 3 game lead over Asheville with 5 games to go. Asheville's elimination number is 3, so any combination of 3 Rome wins or Asheville losses will give the R-Braves the second half division title.

Gwinnett Braves 0 Pawtucket Red Sox 1, Game 1

• Jack Wilson SS 0-3, .188 AVG
• Lyle Overbay 1B 0-1, 2 BB, .273 AVG
  
• Jose Yepez C 1-3, .266 AVG
• Brian Friday 1-2, .215 AVG
• Luis Durango 2-2, .293 AVG
• Randall Delgado 7 IP, 1 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 5 K, 4.06 ERA

Randall Delgado took the tough luck, complete game loss in the first game of the doubleheader, allowing just 1 run over 7 innings of work. In his last 2 starts, Delgado has struck out 11 while allowing 1 earned run in 11 innings of work. After posting a 4.42 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP in 91.2 innings in the Majors this year, the 22 year old finishes his AAA season with a 4-3 record, a 4.06 ERA, a 1.53 WHIP, 10.3 K/9, 4.3 BB/9, and 2.4 K/BB in 44.1 innings with Gwinnett. In his last 10 games, Jose Yepez is hitting .324 with a .793 OPS, 2 doubles, and 1 RBI.

Gwinnett Braves 2, Pawtucket Red Sox 3

• Luis Durango CF 1-3, .293 AVG
• Felix Pie RF 2-3, 2 2B, RBI, .283 AVG
• Josh Kroeger DH 1-2, 1 BB, .270 AVG
• Josh Wilson SS 1-3, .244 AVG
• Jilio Teheran 6.1 IP, 3 R, 2 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 6 K, 5.08 ERA
• Andy Russell 0.2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 K, 1.90 ERA

Julio Teheran allowed 3 runs, 2 earned, in 6.1 innings of work, striking out 9. Teheran has been greatin 3 of his last 4 starts, allowing 4 earned while striking out 24 in 22.1 innings in those 3 while allowing 7 earned in 2.2 innings in his August 19th start. Still, after being named the International League Pitcher Of The Year and Rookie Of The Year in 2011, 2012 was a disappointment, as the 21 year old finished with a 7-9 record, a 5.08 ERA, a 1.44 WHIP, 6.7 K/9, 3 BB/9, and 2.3 K/BB in 131 innings. In his last 3 appearances, Andy Russell has struck out 5 in 3 scoreless innings. Luis Durango went 3-5 in the doubleheader, and he's hitting .351 with a .774 OPS in his last 10 games. Felix Pie was 2-6 with 2 doubles in the doubleheader. Josh Kroeger has been a boon to the G-Braves lineup, hitting .345 with a .933 OPS in 84 at bats since joining Gwinnett, after hitting .244 with a .732 OPS in 238 at bats with Pawtuckett earlier in the season.

The G-Baves will head to Norfolk on Friday to begin their final 4 game series of the season. Yohan Flande is scheduled to start the opener.

Mississippi Braves - Off

Zeke Spruill will start against the Mobile Bay Bears on Friday as the M-Braves begin their final 5 game series of the season.

Lynchburg Hillcats 4, Winston-Salem Dash 5

• Dan Brewer LF 2-5, .268 AVG
• Tommy La Stella 2B 2-4, 2B, RBI, .300 AVG
• Adam Milligan RF 2-4, 2B, RBI, .257 AVG
• Edward Salcedo DH 1-4, HR (16), RBI, .237 AVG
• Chad Comer C 2-4, 2B, RBI, .170 AVG
• Gus Schlosser 6 IP, 4 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 8 K, 3.38 ERA

Gus Schlosser was named the Carolina League Pitcher Of The Year today, but he wasn't able to pick up his 14th win of the season tonight, instead taking his 7th loss, allowing 4 earned runs in 6 innings. The sidearming 23 year old righty might have been a bit fatigued at the end of the season after pitching a league high 165.1 innings, as he allowed 9 earned runs in 11 innings over his final 2 starts. Still, he certainly deserved his award, finishing his season with a 13-7 record, a 3.38 ERA, a 1.14 WHIP, 7.6 K/9, 1.8 BB/9, and 4.2 K/BB. Tommy La Stella had his 4th straight multi-hit game, and in 5 games since returning from the DL, he's gone 12-16 with 3 doubles, a triple, 3 RBI, and a walk. Dan Brewer is 4-11 in his last 2 games. Adam Milligan has gone 4-12 with 2 doubles, a homer, 3 RBI, and a walk in his last 3 games, and he's hitting .321 with a .885 OPS in 78 at bats in August. Edward Salcedo homered for the 2nd straight day, and he's gone 3-10 with 3 RBI in those 2 games. Chad Comer snapped a 0-20 skid over his last 8 games by rapping out 2 hits today.

Ryan Weber will start the series finale against the Dash tomorrow.

Rome Braves 1, Augusta Greenjackets 5

• Tony Mueller CF 3-5, RBI, .269 AVG
• Cory Brownsten C 2-4, 2B, .206 AVG
• AJ Holland 4 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, 6 BB, 4 K, 4.14 ERA
• Ronan Pacheco 2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 2 BB, 2 K, 2.73 ERA
• Nathan Hyatt 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 5 K, 0.66 ERA

Tony Mueller had a 3 hit day, snapping a 0-7 skid in his last 2 games. He's fared better at home this year, hitting .295 with a .663 OPS in 217 at bats while hitting .240 with a .582 OPS in 192 road at bats. Cory Brownsten had 2 hits today, and after hitting just .146 with a .451 OPS in 103 at bats before the All-Star break, the 24 year old has hit .254 with a .622 OPS in 130 at bats since the break. AJ Holland finishes his season with a 5-10 record, a 4.28 ERA, a 1.43 WHIP, 4.9 K/9, 4.1 BB/9, and 1.2 K/BB in 88.1 innings between the GCL and Rome. In his last 5 appearances, Ronan Pacheco has struck out 16 while allowing 2 earned runs in 9.2 innings. In 13.2 innings over 10 appearances since joining Rome, Nathan Hyatt has struck out 20 while allowing just 1 earned run. The 21 year old righty is averaging 13 K/9 in 23.2 innings between Danville and Rome this year.

The R-Braves head to Lexington on Friday to begin their final 5 game series of the season. The teams will open with a doubleheader tomorrow, with Greg Ross scheduled to start the first game.

Danville Braves 9, Elizabethton Twins 2

• Ronald Luna 2B 2-5
• Josh Elander DH 1-4, 2B, BB
• Felix Marte LF 1-5, 2 RBI
• Blake Brown RF 2-3, RBI, 2 BB
• Troy Snitker C 1-4, 2 RBI, BB
• Logan Robbins 2-5, 2B, 3 RBI
• Mauricio Cabrera 4.2 IP, 2 R, 1 ER, 4 H, 5 BB, 6 K
• Zach Jadofsky 1.1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 2 BB, 1 K, W
• Carlos Perez 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 2 BB, 4 K
• Jeremy Fitzgerald 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 K

Danville tied up its playoff series against the E-Twins tonight with a great performance out of the bottom of their lineup, as the 7-8-9 hitters, Blake Brown, Troy Snitker, and Logan Robbins, combined to go 5-12 with a double, 6 RBI, 3 walks, and 3 runs scored. Mauricio Cabrera was effectively wild tonight, walking 5 while striking out 6 and allowing 2 runs, 1 earned, in 4.2 innings of work. The bullpen was outstanding, as Zach Jadofsky entered the game with the bases loaded and stranded all 3 runners, combining with Carlos Perez and Jeremy Fitzgerald to strike out 5 over 4.2 shutout innings.

The decisive Game 3 of the series takes place Friday night in Elizabethton, with righty Williams Perez scheduled to start for Danville.